Staff Writer Sahmaya Busby went to the Glicker-Milstein Theater to view a Thursday rehearsal of MaMa 2022: Ad Astra, a graceful and impassioned astrologically-themed dance performance choreographed by Lauren Wilkins, CC ‘22.

The Mama Project: Ad Astra’s first piece ended with a stunning visual of a dancer atop a supportive structure reaching to the stars. The lighting was designed so that the reaching dancer shone, establishing the stunning celestial motif that would ring throughout the performance.

When I walked into the Glicker-Milstein Theater on Thursday, February 24 the dancers and technical crew were preparing for the show in the final minutes before the dress rehearsal with intense focus while I took in the ambiance. I was attending my first dance performance at Columbia–and I had high expectations–but MaMa 2022: Ad Astra more than exceeded them. 

The MaMa Project, which got its name from its two original creators, Maya and Marian, is a satellite project to Orchesis, Columbia’s largest dance group. The MaMa Project has annual performances with a range of themes. In past years, audiences enjoyed themes like “Worth Saving,” a performance about memory, and “Terraform,” a theme that revolved around landscapes. 

This year’s performance was choreographed by Lauren Wilkins, CC ‘22 and operated with an astrological theme. Four groups of dancers encapsulated the elements of the 12 astrological signs–fire, water, air, and earth. Those who belonged to the respective groups wore muted, earthy red, blue, white, and green colors to match their respective elements. You can see which dancers belonged to their elemental signs on the MaMa Project’s Instagram. 

The opening group number “Uranus” to the song by Sleeping At Last included all dancers in an ethereal, collaborative group number. The dancers moved across the stage with synchronicity and deliberate movements, introducing the elements. The piece ended with a beautifully structured pyramid, with one dancer on top, reaching ad astra–to the stars. Dance pieces centered around each element followed for Act I. 

“Fire” was the next piece–a trio gracing the stage to “Sun” by Sleeping At Last. The group, clad in clay-red, performed a stunning collaborative routine, with dancers lifting and leaning on each other. In the next number, “Earth,” the quartet wore neutral green and moved with brilliant synchronicity, forming picturesque formations to “re:stacks” by bon iver.  

In “Air,” featured dancers shone on the stage to Holocene by “Novo Amor” in white making flowy movements, truly encapsulating the element they were representing. In this number, Athena Pagon, SEAS ‘23 stunned with swift, bold movements and a sentimental final solo piece. The last element “Water” began with grandiose but precise movement, dancing to “Ontario” by Novo Amor.

The last two pieces for Act I were both collective. The first, “Mars,” to “i could fight on a wall” by aquilo was choreographed into a form of battle, with dancers moving in opposition to each other until a congruent ending, where a resolution was reached, and all dancers performed the same dance at the end. 

The final number “Mercury” to “alps” by Novo Amor was a graceful ending to the first act of the show. It was sentimental and reflective, allowing me to recall and relate to the places where I feel most at peace and understood, through the congruence and understanding depicted by each dancer in the final scene. The supportive, dependent motions made between the dancers made for a resolution just as ethereal as the beginning number. 

Act II began with all dancers back on the stage. This time, however, instead of their earthy color tones, they donned black mesh shirts with sparkling stars and black pants. The opening number of the act was called “Below Us” set to “Rome” by Dermot Kennedy. In the next pieces, the dancers were organized by shared planetary aspects. Wilkins organized the performers into the astrologically-defined groups according to their planet positions on their birth charts, for example, members with their Moon placements in the Pisces signs were arranged into the Pisces moon group. The pieces as a whole represented a system of support amongst all signs, but the movements, whether bold for fire signs or swift for air signs, differed among each element.

The first group, Sagittarius risings, was a quartet, and they were followed by smaller groups of Gemini moons, Pisces moons, Scorpio Venuses, Taurus moons, Leo risings, and a group finale called “Venus.” Though they moved in concurrence, each group took on different interpretations in movements. As an audience member, I could focus on one dancer in sync with another, but notice small differences in how each performer completed a movement or action–whether the movement was gallant or nimble

Overall, I was stunned by the sentimentality of the performance. The combination of technical elements like the starry lighting and spotlights on specific dancers in some pieces brought such meaning to the performance that you don’t have to understand astrology to understand the larger themes relating to emotions or collective support. 

Every dancer moved in synchronous motions but still offered their own interpretations of emotion and passion. All the song choices were mellow and included calming acoustic instruments that contrasted Wilkins’ adventurous and daring choreography, making the performance even more dynamic. Each dancer offered individual meanings with small choices, such as the way in which their movements were made, but they were ultimately congruent and always in agreement.

As a whole, the two acts depicted the separation and unification of the astrological signs. Despite the astrological theme at hand, one did not have to have extensive knowledge of what these signs meant or how they were showcased, but the underlying themes of community and affinity for others were apparent. In all whole-group numbers, the dancers moved in sync to bring final resolutions to the existence of several groups. The congruency among them, along with the songs whose themes revolved around oneness, illustrated the kinship and collective support in the distinct groups. Ad Astra seemed to portray the unity and support that can exist among versatile groups and people.

Ad Astra via the Mama Project’s Instagram